The Gulf of America Is a Real Thing
But the "thing" is not geographical (it's societal)
Gulf: definition: noun
a portion of an ocean or sea partly enclosed by land.
a deep hollow; chasm or abyss.
any wide separation, as in position, status, or education.
something that engulfs or swallows up
Recently, Donald Trump ludicrously re-named the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” and then banned any organisation that chose not to comply with his diktat.
He would have been better off addressing the real gulf of America, human development and social progress.
To put it in context, think of definition number three for the meaning of “gulf” above, not number one.
Areas Where the US Actually IS Number One.
National Wealth
By the measure of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the overall size of a country’s economy, the US has the largest economy in the world ($27 trillion as of 2024) by a wide margin, roughly a quarter of the total world economy.
Military Power
When it comes to military spending ($886 billion - 2024) the US spends more than the next 10 countries combined. Ranked by “capability,” the US again comes in first. The United States is the undisputed #1 in military spending, global reach, and technological superiority. Its power projection—the ability to deploy and sustain military force anywhere in the world—is unmatched.
One of my favorite quotes from The Caspian Report (a balanced and informative YouTube channel focusing on geopolitical analysis) is when the narrator and producer, Shirvan Neftchi, tellingly states that country X is “ … about to find out why America doesn’t have universal health care” as the American military makes a move against it.
Higher Education and Scientific Research
15 of the top 20 universities in the world (Harvard, MIT, Stanford, etc.) are U.S.-based. The US is first in Nobel Prize science winners and academic research papers cited.
Where Does the US rank on its Own Constitutional Rights?
America’s primacy on the most important world indexes gets very slim after that. The US Constitution famously guarantees “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It’s instructive to take a look at how the US ranks worldwide in each category.
1) Life
This is attributed to greater mortality from chronic diseases, COVID-19, injuries (including drug overdose and firearm-related deaths), high infant mortality rates; lack of universal health coverage; suicides, drug overdoses; and chronic diseases such as diabetes and liver disease.
Among OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries in 2021, the US ranked 33rd out of 38 countries, with an infant mortality rate of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births. The OECD average was 4.0.
The US has the highest firearm death rates among 27 high-income countries. The firearm homicide rate in the US is approximately 25 times higher than other high-income countries, and the firearm suicide rate is nearly 10 times higher. In 2023, nearly 47,000 people died from gun-related injuries in the US.
Trump's Address to Congress (2025): During President Donald Trump's 2025 address to Congress, Republican lawmakers chanted "USA! USA! USA!" in response to his statements about America's resurgence.
2) Liberty
The international democracy and human rights advocacy and watchdog organization Freedom House gave the United States 83 points in its annual ranking of freedom around the world. This is similar to countries such as Croatia, Panama and Romania. Mongolia and Argentina, for example, scored higher than the United States.
Electoral College
Most democracies use direct voting for national leaders, whereas the U.S. uses an electoral college system that can lead to presidents winning without the popular vote.
Gerrymandering
U.S. political districts are often heavily manipulated for partisan advantage, unlike in many other democracies
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said today (April 10) in a post on X that stopping illegal “ideas” from crossing the border is among the agency’s responsibilities.
The post includes a graphic that reads: “If it crosses the border illegally, it’s our job to stop it.” Several examples are included in the graphic, including “people,” “money,” “products” and “ideas.”
The Cato Institute and Fraser Institute: Human Freedom Index provides a broad measure of human freedom, encompassing personal, civil, and economic freedom. It uses numerous distinct indicators across areas like the rule of law, security and safety, movement, religion, association, expression, relationships, size of government, legal system and property rights, sound money, freedom to trade internationally, and regulation. In 2024 (using data up to 2022), the United States was tied for 17th place out of 165 jurisdictions, falling from 7th in 2000.
Incarceration Rates
The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates worldwide. There are nearly 1.8 million prisoners. It has the sixth highest prison population rate (531 per 100,000 of the national population). Only El Salvador (1,086), Cuba (794), Rwanda (637), Turkmenistan (576), and American Samoa (538), are higher.
Many developed countries have abolished the death penalty, but the U.S. still practices it in some states.
This while masked agents of the Trump administration are now extrajudicially rounding up legal immigrants without being in uniform or showing identification and forcibly bundling them into unmarked vans without warrants, and off to super prisons in El Salvador in exchange for money. All while both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution guarantee due process of law.
On April 14th, Trump told his Salvadoran counterpart that “home-growns are next” when it comes to deporting and incarcerating them abroad and that El Salvador would “need to be build about five more places” to hold American citizens.
3) Happiness
The World Happiness Report combines wellbeing data from over 140 countries with high-quality analysis by world-leading researchers from a wide range of academic disciplines.
Their global happiness ranking, asked world citizens a single question:
Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?
US citizens ranked themselves 24th.
Gun Ownership
Okay. Not so great so far.
What about another right guaranteed in the US constitution, the right to bear arms.
The Small Arms Survey estimates that of the one billion firearms in global circulation as of 2017, 857 million (85 per cent) are in civilian hands, 133 million (13 per cent) are in military arsenals, and 23 million (2 per cent) are owned by law enforcement agencies.
Here, the US truly holds the number one position. Estimated total civilian-held legal and illicit firearms in the 25 top-ranked countries and territories (2017): United States 393,300,000; India 71,100,000; China 49,700,000
Estimated rate of civilian firearms holdings (2017) in the 25 top-ranked countries and territories, (firearms per 100 residents): United States 120.5; Yemen 52.8; Montenegro 39.1
Is personal ownership of firearms a good thing? Worldwide ownership rates would suggest most people don’t think it is.
Patriotism
Patriotism is the feeling of love, loyalty, devotion, support and/or pride directed toward one’s country. Patriotism relates to one’s own homeland, including its historical, political, cultural, or ethnic qualities.
YouGov conducted an international survey on globalization, surveying groups of people from 19 countries around the world. Respondents were asked whether they believe they live “in the best country in the world,” and their answer determined which were the most patriotic. Based on the YouGov survey, the United States is the most patriotic country, with 41% of its respondents answering “yes” to “My country is the best country in the world,” and 32% believe that the US is “better than most countries.”
Top 10 Most Patriotic Countries
US, 41%; India, 36%; Australia, 34%; Thailand, 25%; Saudi Arabia, 25%; Philippines, 15%; Indonesia, 14%; United Kingdom, 13%; Denmark, 13%, Malaysia, 11%.
When news broke of Osama bin Laden's death during a 2011 Phillies-Mets baseball game, fans spontaneously erupted into chants of "USA! USA! USA!"
One of the most interesting measures of patriotism came from the International Social Survey Program, which measured patriotism in two complementary surveys. One measured general national pride, but included several edgier questions that bordered on nationalism. The other measured domain-specific national pride, which focused upon the nation’s accomplishments and qualities, giving decidedly different results.
Another study, this time conducted by WIN/Gallup International, asked respondents in 64 countries if they would be willing to fight and possibly die for their country—arguably the ultimate test of one’s patriotism. The results for this survey gave notably different results.
Interestingly, in every country survey by both polls, the percentage of respondents who thought their country was the best in the world was lower than the percentage of people willing to fight for that same country.
Health Care
Although the US spends the most in the world on health care, spending ~17% of GDP, outcomes often lag behind other wealthy countries. It ranks 69th, behind Armenia but slightly ahead of Algeria, according to the Legatum Institute, a London-based think tank that ranked 167 countries based on the overall health of their societies and the accessibility of tools to maintain health, including healthcare services.
Statista similarly ranks the US 69th in its 2023 ranking of health and health systems ranking of countries worldwide
High Prescription Drug Prices
Medications cost significantly more than in other countries, with insulin and EpiPens as notable examples.
Racial Equality
The World Values Survey is an international research program that studies “social, political, economic, religious and cultural values” including racial tolerance and racism. The WVS survey asks respondents from more than 80 countries dozens of questions, including one that asked respondents to identify types of people they would not want as neighbors. The more people of a particular country responded that they would be happy to have a neighbor of a different race, the more racially tolerant the respondents’ country would be considered.
The US was ranked 55th in terms of racial equality, slightly ahead of Oman but behind Vietnam.
During National Football League games in 2016-17 when players like Colin Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality, some fans in the stands chanted “USA!” Many interpreted the chant not as generic patriotism, but as a hostile response to peaceful protest, turning a political statement into a divisive, nationalist counter-protest. Tellingly, Kaepernick has not been able to get a playing contract since.
The Othering and Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley tallies every year an Inclusiveness Index after holistically analyzing the degree of inclusion and protections for marginalized groups across a range of social categories such as gender, race, religion, sexual orientation and disability. In 2024, the US was ranked 79th, basically tied with Venezuela and Honduras.
During a 2012 high school basketball game in San Antonio, Texas, students from Alamo Heights chanted "USA! USA! USA!" after their predominantly white team defeated Edison High School, which had a predominantly Hispanic student body. The chant was widely criticized as racially insensitive, as it implied that the Edison players were not American. School officials quickly apologized, and the incident sparked a national debate about whether the chant was patriotic or discriminatory.
Marriage and Single-Parent Families
Extended and nuclear families are often considered a bellwether of individual happiness and stability. Conversely, single parent families are often indicative of families under stress.
World rankings differ, but the US generally ranks in the middle of countries measuring marriage rates, placing 44th out of 115 by one measure. Divorce rates are estimated to be from 10th to 20th, with 39% of marriages ending in divorce.
The United States has the world's highest rate of children living in single-parent households. Almost a quarter (23%) of US children under the age of 18 live with one parent and no other adults. This is more than three times the global average of 7%.
Wealth Distribution
How fairly countries distribute the wealth they generate is more important than overall GDP. In 2024 GDP per Capita (average income or economic output per citizen), the US comes in sixth ($80,000), behind Luxembourg ($130,000), Ireland ($110,000), Singapore ($95,000), Qatar ($85,000) and Switzerland ($85,000).
The top 1% owns ~33% of all U.S. wealth. Median household wealth is far lower than total averages suggest. It gives a better sense than the average income as it avoids the distortion caused by billionaires. Here, the US is also sixth ($110,000), behind Belgium ($250,000), Australia ($247,000), Netherlands ($230,000), New Zealand ($210,000), and Denmark ($200,000).
Poverty
The average relative poverty rate (i.e. the share of people living with less than half the median disposable income in their country) was 11.4% in 2021 for the OECD countries. Poverty rates were highest in the United States (18%) and Costa Rica (21%), while in Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Hungary and Iceland poverty affected only 5‑7% of the population.
Global Trust & Diplomacy
A truly great country has friends. How much can the US depend on the support of other countries worldwide? Not so much as it turns out. No one likes a bully.
During the final round of the U.S. Open in June 2024, American fans chanted "USA!" after Rory McIlroy, a Northern Irish golfer, missed a crucial putt. This behavior was widely criticized for lacking sportsmanship and disrespecting golf etiquette. Even tournament winner Bryson DeChambeau urged the crowd to quiet down during a pivotal moment for his playing partner. Golf legend Colin Montgomerie condemned the crowd's conduct.
Meanwhile, the current Trump administration is belittling and publicly embarrassing Ukraine, Europe, Denmark, Panama, Canada and other stalwart longtime allies, all at the same time he is starting a trade war with China and needs all the world support he can get.
As the Canadian Prime Minister was saying their relationship with the US was “over,” his Foreign Minister was telling NATO, “We know that the relationship will never be the same again."
– Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
As Trump’s ill-advised trade war rages on, China is literally mocking America with AI-generated videos of incompetent, obese American labourers on automobile, smart phone, textile and running shoe sweat shops that the US says will be re-shored while Chinese music plays.
The Widening Gulf of America
Mental Health & Addiction: Drug overdose deaths per capita (#1), Opioid-related deaths (#1)
Reading and Math Scores: 25th-30th globally.
College affordability: Among the world’s most expensive; student loan debt is over $1.7 trillion.
Paid Parental Leave: The U.S. is the only wealthy country without federally mandated paid parental leave.
Work and wages: The U.S. federal minimum wage has stagnated compared to cost-of-living increases, unlike many other countries that index wages to inflation. Many countries mandate weeks of paid vacation and sick leave; the U.S. does not.
Average Hours Worked: The average American works 1,976 hours/year. In Germany, it sits as 1,778; France, 1,400; the UK, 1867, Japan, 1,903; Canada,1,669; and Mexico 2,400.
Paid Vacation Days: The average American worker gets ten mandatory, paid vacation days; the French, 36; the German, 33; the Spanish, 44; the British, 36; the Japanese, 26.
Government Debt: The US has a staggering $35 trillion of federal government debt in 2024, 112% of GDP. In comparison, Japanese debt is 205%, Italian 132%, British 100%, French 92%, and German only 45%.
Car Dependency: Unlike Europe and Asia, the U.S. lacks extensive public transportation networks, making car ownership a necessity in most areas.
High-Speed Rail: The U.S. lags far behind in high-speed rail compared to countries like Japan, China, and much of Europe.
Expensive & Slow Internet: U.S. internet services are often slower and more expensive than in other developed nations due to lack of competition.
High Processed Food Consumption: The U.S. diet includes more processed and fast food compared to other countries.
The US as Number One?
Nope, not even close, except for a very few, limited cases.
In the categories that matter to most people on a daily basis, there is a huge gulf between American rhetoric and reality.
And the figures quoted in this article are taken from before the current US Trump administration, which is zealously cutting the social services and checks and balances that made America work.
Yep, the gulf of America is real. And getting wider.
Gulp!
USA! USA! USA!